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The psychology of performance with Jamil Quareshi

The psychology of performance with Jamil Quareshi

Jamil Quareshi

Jamil Quareshi

Jamil Qureshi (@Jamil_Qureshi) is one of the foremost practitioners of performance psychology and an expert in high performance. As the co-founder of several change agencies � We Do Things Differently, Loudhouse and JQED � Jamil has worked with a rich diversity of the most talented business and sportspeople and teams in the world.

In 2006, he was appointed as the first-ever official psychologist to work with the European Ryder Cup team. They made history in winning by a record-equalling margin. In addition, Jamil has worked with 22 golfers inside the top 50 in the world, including two world number 1�s. His clients have included Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Paul McGinley, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey, Thomas Bjorn and Sergio Garcia.

Ranked among the most influential figures in British sport in 2009, Jamil was voted in the top 100 most powerful men in golf 2008 by his international peers. And it doesn�t stop there.

Jamil has worked successfully with three English Premiership football clubs, one of which reaching a record position from its halfway point in the season. He has worked with footballers from Manchester United FC, Manchester City FC, Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC, Fomula 1 drivers David Coulthard and Eddie Irvine and the 2009 England Ashes-winning cricketers.

2:57 First career steps

His start in the corporate world despite a passion for psychology

The seemingly random jobs and choices he made trying to find himself and his passion: �I said yes to everything�

Being discovered at a mind-reading show

5:20 Jamil�s approach to performance psychology

Why having no interest in golf made him a better psychologist to golfers

The similarities between working with athletes and CEOs

His focus on simple, practical tips

8:32 Important psychological principles

There is no �one size fits all� solution for everyone

The 2 most important theories:

�Being motivated by what we�re seeing to achieve rather than what we�re seeking to avoid�

Identifying your purpose

9:56 Finding your purpose

�Asking why five times� to discover your core beliefs

Looking to children to relearn how to ask questions and dig deeper

11:36 Attitude

The foremost importance of attitude

Limitations of technical expertise

Why applying growth mindset principles is difficult

Our tendency to look for quick fixes

14:16 Thinking differently

The �Fosbury Flop� as an example of thinking differently in the field of high jumping

Using gamification to think differently

Reading suggestions: why business books might not help you grow your business

17:34 Ownership

How to get employees to take ownership:

permission

accountability

removing the fear of failure

19:01 Inner negative voices

How we need to translate instead of listen to these voices verbatim

Paul McGinley and how he dealt with critical voices before an important putt

The power of our intuition and how to trust ourselves

22:04 Motivation and resilience

The ups and downs in performance: what gets in the way

Why playing is learning: lessons from early childhood

24:48 The role of a sports psychologist

Our changing attitudes towards sports psychology

The importance of regular psychological consultations even when things are going well

26:18 Mental toughness

How consistency of mind leads to consistency of play

Federer�s example: how his thinking was consistent, regardless of whether he was winning or losing

Coping strategies such as pre-match routines and checklists

29:56 Prediction in sports

How intuition is based on experience

What our subconscious knows that our conscious mind doesn�t

Examples of �flow� in sport: Wayne Rooney in his prime and Tiger Woods� win

31:54 Playing vs analyzing

�Talent is not enough�

The importance of stepping back and observing

33:31 Reaching goals

�Just do something�: taking small steps towards your goal

Focusing on your strengths

35:21 Fear

The importance of fear and failure in our development

Seeing confidence as a muscle to be exercised

Why we should practice facing our fears

How we don�t give credit to our own strengths

Primal fears vs learned fears

The danger of putting labels on ourselves

40:24 From sport to business

How we�re often held back from moving forward by what we fear to lose

The importance of taking responsibility

Being aware of our own belief systems and how they make us see things inaccurately

42:56 Children in sport

What children gain from sports: learning to lose and learning to collaborate as a team

Pushy parents

Darren Clark�s memories of the time he enjoyed golf the most

47:01 Leadership development

The importance of connecting with each other

The most important thing for a business to do is to create a community of people

Self-awareness within leadership

How to become resilient in the face of a changing digital world

49:58 Creativity

Why we should celebrate �divergent thinkers� and challenge the status-quo

Creating an environment that enables making unexpected connections

How creativity in sport comes from accepting failure

The �rogue monkey� image

Watching for ingrained limiting patterns that we accept as truths

54:16 Magic and stand-up

The link between storytelling and magic: �Some of the best psychologists in the world I believe are magicians�

The power of storytelling and imagination

55:43 Luck

How to bring luck into our lives

56:36 Rapid-fire questions

Alternative career choice: Musician

Current curiosity: Our post-Brexit future

Most influential books: �Born to Succeed� by Colin Turner and �Set The Boy Free� by Johnny Marr

Best advice: Life is about timing � things happen when they�re meant to

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The 1% Podcast brings together the 3Ps of People, Professions and Performance. We chat to top-class performers from eclectic areas (sport, business, politics, art etc.) to extract the tactics, tools and routines you can use to get 1% better and achieve success.